


but one

by AwayLaughing



Series: lines of descent [9]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Dysfunctional Relationships, F/M, Family Drama, Family Fluff, Female Friendship, Hiashi's A+ Parenting, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Strained Relationships, Ume's Actual A+ Parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-06
Updated: 2017-06-06
Packaged: 2018-11-09 19:32:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11111352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AwayLaughing/pseuds/AwayLaughing
Summary: Ume is not a shinobi. Her only weapons are her love and her voice, and damn anyone who thinks she won't use them.





	but one

Ume sat in the garden and watched. Once upon a time sitting this still for so long was a true trial, but to fit into the Hyūga it was a requirement. They were bred for stillness, it sometimes seemed, right until they moved, lightning fast and decisive. She was no shinobi, but seeing her husband spar against his more able relatives did have some strange, starkly destructive beauty to it.

 

It was not a skill her daughter excelled at, enough so despite Hiashi’s resistance she was currently carrying another child. These days he could barely look at her. She thought it was guilt, knowing this new child existed to disgrace the eldest one.

 

If it was, it was pointless. Hiashi’s guilt did not absolve him of what he did despite it. And Ume was never going to throw away her children, not even if holding onto them killed her.

 

“Ume, you’re going to burn if you stay here you know.” Even as Riku spoke, she was opening a parasol.

 

“Oh give me that,” she said, making a grab for the damn thing, only for Riku to dance away, laughing. Riku had never mastered standing still let alone that essence of being still. She was also assuredly not a Hyūga, no matter how long the both of them had lived here.

 

“But my lady, in your condition such a strain could do irreversible damage,” Riku teased and Ume rolled her eyes.

 

“Then stick it in the ground,” she said.

 

“And upset Tsukimi-sama’s mulch?”

 

“She’ll survive,” Ume said. Once, her mother in law had been a terrifying force. Ume knew better now. Hyūga Tsukimi was an old shell wrapped around a wounded and angry young woman. Her bite was gone – or at least couldn’t touch Ume.

 

“But I might not,” Riku said, finally flopping down next to Ume. She did not put the parasol down, however. “Where’s Hinata-chan?”

 

“Classes,” Ume said. “It’s only just past noon.”

 

“Seems cruel to have them take lessons even through a holiday,” she said. “I thought perhaps they were out early,” Riku said.

 

“They?” Ume asked. Riku nudged her, drawing her eyes back to Hiashi.

 

Currently he was sparring with a distant cousin, a short haired man of the same age named Shinobu. It took her a moment to find the small, white clad body in a corner, sitting so still he might as well have been a shadow. Her nephew had been in her charge for two years, but still Ume wasn’t sure how to deal with him. His father’s death had shattered the boy – gone was the kind but assertive little boy with the slow but sincere smile. Now he was more like his father every day. Quiet and aloof to cover up an emotional maelstrom. And the worst was she feared she kept seeing the same change in her daughter – maybe not the impotent rage – but the need to hide.

 

It was a brutal feeling – to not be enough. Not enough to save a lost little boy, not enough to bolster her own young daughter.

 

“Ume?” Riku asked, “are you alright?”

 

“Yes,” Ume said. “Just...Neji-chan.”

 

Riku understood. Riku had been friends with Ryōko herself, though she’d never really been fond of Hizashi. She was not overly fond of Neji either, though she knew it was more incomprehension than actual dislike. “Is he skipping class?” she asked.

 

“I don’t think so,” Ume said, “Hiashi wouldn’t tolerate his presence, if it was so.”

 

“Hm,” Riku said, and Ume cocked her head.

 

“You disagree?”

 

“Hiashi-sama is...not a soft man,” Riku said delicately, “or a perfect one. But he loved Hizashi-dono. I think he...” she trailed off. “Desires to be more lenient with Neji-chan. If Shinobu-san is unlikely to comment about this transgression to anyone, would Hiashi-sama actually correct it?”

 

Ume considered. Hiashi seemed to try and avoid his nephew at least as much as the six year old tried to avoid him. It was no doubt his guilt again, but she conceded it may too, also, be his attempt to give Neji the freedom he so sorely lacked. There were a great many very good eyes in the Hyūga main household, and with the ghosts of his parents riding on his shoulders, Neji was under scrutiny. Ryōko had been a spitfire – defiant but in a manner that was never enough to invite rebuke. Hizashi had been broken, and sometimes a depth of violence showed through the cracks it was nothing short of terrifying.

 

It was easy to dread the idea Neji would manifest both of these traits. Certainly she thought Hizashi had left a mark – but she rather thought it was his moods before his death, and his seeming abandonment that were the problem. Not least because of the one time her nephew had slipped up and more or less said as much – late at night when the grief was fresh and he too young to do anything about it.

 

_He left._

 

He was still young to do anything about it, she amended. He was just standing on steadier ground – or his legs were finally strong enough to create the same effect.

 

“He would,” she said, finally answering the question. Hiashi and Neji were both slaves to their own self image, at least half as much as they were to the clan’s expectations. Hiashi even more. “Just as he does with Hinata.” Riku twitched as if she disagreed. “Riku?”

 

“I...think you are right about Hinata-chan,” she said, looking away. “But not about Neji-chan.”

 

That stung, and without meaning too Ume raised her voice slightly. “You think he prefers his nephew to his own daughter?”

 

“I think he doesn’t really see either of them,” Riku – never really a good servant – snapped back. “He sees himself, and he sees his brother and so he is overly harsh to one and ignores the other. At best he's simply a bad father but I think he's cruel!”

 

Ume felt as if Riku had just dumped a bucket of ice water on her at that – and for a moment the two just stared at each other in horror.

 

“Ume-sama I am so sorry,” Riku said, her hands flying up to her mouth. “I never – I should never have, I don’t actually-”

 

“Shush,” Ume said, fighting her hurt to lay a hand on Riku’s knee. “Don’t start with that -sama nonsense now.” She swallowed. “You’re right." Riku blanched further. "Hiashi is not a good father, and he can be cruel without meaning to be." Every time he shut Hinata down, every time he ignored his nephew. Every missed meal and every story not read to a little girl who asked for so few things. "But what can I do? I can love my daughter, I can try and be everything he is not to both of them, but I cannot change him. I cannot really be enough."

 

Pieces kept slipping between her fingers and then all she had was fragments of the children who loved her. Who trusted her.

 

Not for the first time, she wished Ryōko had never died. For one, Neji would have had a strong parent with him through everything, but Ume would have her too. Riku was strong herself, but her sense of being an outsider and a servant meant she would only push so far. She would certainly never push Hiashi – not like Ryōko had.

 

“Oh Ume, don’t cry,” Riku said. It took a moment to realize what she even meant, and Ume was a bit surprised to reach up and feel tears on her cheeks. “I’m sorry that was cruel. I just saw Henshō-sama with Neji-chan last night and I’m still worked up-”

 

That made her look up, eyes narrowing. “Henshō-dono was with Neji-chan last night? Doing what?”

 

“Criticizing him, mostly,” Riku said. “Tsukimi-dono swooped in and distracted him but...” she let out a breath. “He is an awful old man.”

 

“That he is,” Ume said. She hated Henshō – he was cruel and he had learned to target Neji if he wanted to punish her or even Hiashi. She could shield Hinata, but quickly learned that treating Neji as her own opened him to more scrutinty. For a long moment no one said anything.

 

"For what it's worth, I think you'd done plenty. For Hinata-chan and Neji-chan."

 

It did not feel like it. “Help me up,” she said. Riku blinked, but did as directed.

 

“Where are we going?” Riku asked.

 

“To collect Hinata,” Ume said. “It's Oseibo after all.”

 

“It's the middle of maths.”

 

“It's Oseibo," she stressed again. "It's meant to be spent with family, not cloistered away. And I would honour that in the middle of sparring,” Ume said darkly. Riku whistled.

 

“Ume, you’re not the little girl from Motoyoshi.”

 

She sounded impressed, and Ume had to smile though it felt grim. She really was not – but she didn’t know it was a good thing.

 

* * *

 

 

Hinata’s maths teacher was a short – shorter than Ume herself even – plump Hyuuga who wore her hair in a very old fashioned style, but who despite that was a good natured woman. She smiled at Ume when she swept in, and then deeper at Hinata’s pleased grin.

 

“Mama,” she said, then flushed. “Kaasama,” she said.

 

Ume pressed a kiss to her head, “you can always use mama with me,” she said. “Do you mind if I steal Hinata, Kiyoki-san?”

 

Kiyoki blinked once and then hummed, tapping her chin. “No, I think Hinata-chan is doing pretty well. Just means she has to finish a little extra before next class.”

 

“I will,” Hinata said, looking between her mother and teacher. She did not stand, though, hands still in her lap.

 

Kiyoki’s smile widened. “Go,” she said. Hinata did, a little burst of energy that left her hanging onto Ume’s hand. Ume smiled down at her.

 

“What are we doing, mama?” Hinata asked her.

 

Ume hadn’t actually had a plan, so she just said the first thing that came to mind. “I was thinking we’d go out to the village,” she said. “Just you me and Riku-san.”

 

“Really?”

 

“We can get shaved ice,” Ume said. Hinata was absolutely glowing and Ume’s cheeks ached for smiling.

 

* * *

 

 

“Look look,” Hinata said, tugging their joined hands so she could point to the trio of chūnin lingering on a rooftop, eating and laughing. “Will I do that some day?”

 

“Some day,” Ume said, “shinobi are up there all the time.”

 

“Do they get scared, being high up?” Hinata asked.

 

“I don’t know,” Ume said, though she guessed that was the sort of fear they beat out of shinobi young. “Are you scared of heights, Hinata-chan?”

 

Hinata pursed her lips, brows furrowed in worry. “I don’t know,” she said, “I’ve never been high up.”

 

“Ah,” Riku said. “Well, we could fix that, I think.”

 

Ume looked over to her – and saw her friend was eyeing the Hokage’s monument.

 

“If you’re mother is up for it.”

 

Ume’s eyes narrowed at the challenge. “What do you think, Hinata-chan?”

 

“Um,” Hinata said. “Does it mean we can’t have shaved ice?”

 

Ume laughed. “Ice, and then we’ll head up.”

 

“Can I get mikan flavoured?”

 

“If they have it,” Ume said.

 

* * *

 

 

There were two ways up the monument, both of them stairs. The first was the most commonly used and was rather steep, the other was longer but a more gentle slope. That was the one they used, Ume watching in amusement as an excited Hinata ran up and down them ahead of her and Riku.

 

“I think she walks three times the distance we do, just because of how often she doubles back on herself,” Riku said, smiling as she slowly at her azuki shaved ice.

 

“I’d say four,” Ume said, pleased she’d gotten a large. It kept her from over heating – she did not remember being this warm with Hinata. Of course, Hinata’s later months had been somewhat overshadowed by other issues. And it had been a warm winter so far, where it had not been that year. “Aren’t you getting tired, Hinata-chan?” she called out.

 

“No mama,” Hinata said, “is that our house?” Ume had to turn to see where she was pointing.

 

“Yes,” Ume said.

 

“I can see it without the Byakugan!” Hinata said, sounding pleased. “I don’t think I’m scared of heights, mama.”

 

“Well that’s good,” Ume said, “do you still want to go to the top?”

 

“Yes mama!” Hinata said, and then paused. “Do you?”

 

“With you? Always.”

 

* * *

 

 

Ume sat on her bed with a sigh of relief. It lasted only a second however, as a moment later Hiashi swept in. For a long moment nothing was said, and then he seemed to deflate a bit. Which was ridiculous – Hiashi was rigid even in his sleep.

 

“Was your afternoon good?” he asked, voice neutral.

 

“It was delightful,” she said. “Yours?”

 

“My meetings went well,” he said. Silence fell over them. “Your feet must hurt.”

 

“My feet will continue to do so,” she said, “I’m pregnant.”

 

Hiashi nodded. “There will not be a family dinner tonight,” he said. “You can take it in the private dining room with Hinata-chan.”

 

“And yourself?”

 

“I will take it in the office,” he said.

 

“Hmm,” she said. Idly she fiddled with her braid – and then stopped. “Have you informed your parents?”

 

“Yes,” he said.

 

“Is this related to Henshō-sama and Neji-kun’s conversation yesterday?” The way Hiashi’s mouth tightened said yes, yes it was. “Is Neji-kun hurt?” she asked.

 

“No,” Hiashi said.

 

She nodded again. “I think we should cancel his extra classes,” she said. “He likely doesn’t need them, and if he’s not going than I’m sure his tutor has better things to do.”

 

Hiashi gave her a long look. “The Academy does not cover etiquette or clan history,” he said.

 

“But is he struggling in any other subjects?” she asked.

 

“No,” Hiashi said, like the words were being pulled from his throat.

 

Ume nodded and took a deep breath. It was as good a time as any to restart their latest arguement – she’d been too silent on it lately. “Then he doesn’t need them. We’ll do the same for Hinata-chan, when she starts in April.”

 

The room cooled several more degrees.

 

“Hinata-chan’s enrollment is not a sure thing,” Hiashi said.

 

“Of course it is,” Ume said. “If the Akimichi, Aburame and Uchiha can all send their heirs to the Academy why can’t the Hyūga – are our heirs too inept to excel without special coaching?”

 

Hiashi’s jaw twinged. “It is about tradition,” he said as levelly as he could.

 

“And what about the fact the Yamanaka and Nara heirs are her age as well?” Ume asked, completely ignoring that statement. She was not going to have Hinata spend the first fifteen years of her life in a walled off compound of an already walled city. “She’ll only benefit from knowing them well,” she said. “Maybe she’ll finally be able to _handle_ the Inzuka and Nara clan heads.”

 

He glared. She glared right back – black eyes on white – and finally he relented.

 

“I will discuss it with the elders next time we meet,” he said.

 

“Good,” Ume said. Hiashi continued to stand there, and the air in the room grew steadily more awkward. “Do you care about them at all, Hiashi?”

 

He blinked at her, once, long and slow. “Excuse me?”

 

“Neji and Hinata,” she said. “Do you care about them, as people, at all?” He was silent. “Do you care about this baby?”

 

“You are my family and my charges,” he said. “I have a duty to you all.”

 

She let out a long slow breath, taming her temper. “Why can’t you just say yes, Hiashi?” she asked. “What is so bad about loving us?”

 

This time he did not meet her gaze. “I likely will not be in bed until late. I’ll try not to wake you,” he said, and turned on his heel. She waited for the door to close before she fell back, frustrated tears leaking out.

 

* * *

 

 

Early the next morning she woke while he did, and she stayed curled on her side as he got ready for the day. Just before he left he startled her.

 

“I care for you all deeply,” he said. “But I cannot let that control me.”

 

“Have a good day, Hiashi,” she said, because it seemed better then _no more excuse_ _s_ _, Hiashi_ or _are you really that weak_ or _damn you Hiashi, I don’t think you do_.

 

Then she rolled into a sitting position and tried to clear her mind. Today was Saturday, so Hinata had another half day.

 

Maybe she would teach her daughter how to make mochi.

**Author's Note:**

> alt summary: Ume vs Hyuuga Institutional Dysfunction Round 1 (or 10000)
> 
> (spoiler: she loses)
> 
> (spoiler: but in some ways she wins)


End file.
